crepe myrtle (Lagerstroemia indica) — identification, habitat & look-alikes

Crepe myrtle is an Asian shrub or small tree widely planted in the southern US, with ruffled flowers in summer. Its smooth bark peels to reveal patches of color, and its leaves turn yellow, orange, or red in fall. The name is also commonly spelled crape myrtle.

Appearance

Growth form: A shrub or small tree, usually 6–30 ft (2–9 m) tall depending on the variety. The thin bark peels away to show patches of brown, gray, and pinkish tones.
Leaves: Small, smooth-edged oval leaves that turn yellow, orange, or red in fall.
Flowers: Big clusters of 1–1½ in (2.5–4 cm) flowers in white, pink, lavender, purple, or red. Each flower has six crinkled petals.
Flowering time: In the US, flowers appear mainly from July to September.
Fruit: Round brown capsules about ½ in (1.3 cm) wide that split into six parts.

Look-alikes

Japanese crepe myrtleLagerstroemia fauriei

Japanese crepe myrtle usually has white flowers and copper-colored peeling bark. Common crepe myrtle may have pink, red, purple, or white flowers, so a white-flowered garden hybrid can be hard to identify from a photo.

Why they get mixed upThe two are close relatives and are crossed in US garden trees.

Where it lives

Typical habitats: Yards and gardens
Streets and parking lots
Parks
Range: Native to warm parts of Asia, from the Himalayas through southern China and Southeast Asia. In the US it's a very popular landscape tree in mild-winter states, planted in parks, along sidewalks, in highway medians, and in parking lots.
Preferred conditions: Needs full sun (6+ hours a day) and hot summers to bloom well. Grows best in 6–9; farther north, branch tips can be damaged in cold winters, though plants often regrow from the roots and still bloom.
Flowering: Flowers Jul–Sep
Flowers Jul–Sep

Life cycle

Seed dispersal: The capsules release small winged seeds.

Name and classification

Varieties and forms: US nurseries sell many flower colors and sizes. Some popular landscape trees are hybrids between this species and Japanese crepe myrtle (Lagerstroemia fauriei), which may have better resistance to powdery mildew.

Conservation

IUCN Red List: LCLeast ConcernLow risk of extinction
Threats: Common problems include aphids (which can leave black sooty mold), scale insects, leaf spots, and powdery mildew. Deer usually leave it alone.

Culture and stories

Culture and stories: Hard winter cutting of the trunks down to stubs is so common that gardeners call it "crape murder," but many tree-care experts don't recommend it.
Fallen flowers can stain sidewalks and cars in summer.

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